Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:
- That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
- We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
- On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.
By learning about Willow (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.
As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Willow. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.
Neighboring Counties ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived: their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Willow is located in Amherst County.
To see how the shape of Virginia's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Amherst County: Appomattox, Bedford, Campbell, Lynchburg City, Nelson & Rockbridge.
Below are the counties that are near Willow. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Willow:
- Amherst County (The home county of Willow)
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow, with the one closest to Willow listed first.
- Forks of Buffalo
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Forks of Buffalo is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks of Buffalo
- Allwood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Allwood is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allwood
- Sandidges
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Sandidges is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandidges
- Alto
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Alto is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
- Pleasant View
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Pleasant View is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Lowesville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Pedlar Mills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Pedlar Mills is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedlar Mills
- Monitor
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Monitor is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monitor
- Amherst
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Sweet Briar Station
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Sweet Briar Station is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Briar Station
- Coolwell
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Coolwell is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coolwell
- New Glasgow
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- New Glasgow is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Glasgow
- Winesap
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Winesap is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winesap
- Alleghany County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow, with the one closest to Willow listed first.
- Griffith
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Griffith is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffith
- Iron Gate
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Iron Gate is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Gate
- Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
- Appomattox County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow, with the one closest to Willow listed first.
- Beckham
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Beckham is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckham
- Mineral ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Mineral is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral
- Bent Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bent Creek is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bent Creek
- Spout Spring
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Spout Spring is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spout Spring
- Augusta County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow, with the one closest to Willow listed first.
- Steeles Tavern
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Spottswood
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Spottswood is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spottswood
- Newport
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Newport is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Greenville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Middlebrook
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Sherando
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sherando is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherando
- Lipscomb
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lipscomb is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lipscomb
- Stuarts Draft
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Arbor Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Arbor Hill is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbor Hill
- Craigsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Pond Gap ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Pond Gap is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pond Gap
- Lyndhurst
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Jolivue
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Jolivue is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jolivue
- Bath County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow, with the one closest to Willow listed first.
- Millboro
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Yost
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Yost is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yost
- Bedford City
- Bedford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow, with the one closest to Willow listed first.
- Abert
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Abert is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abert
- Coleman Falls
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Coleman Falls is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman Falls
- Waugh
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Waugh is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waugh
- Boonsboro
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Boonsboro is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonsboro
- Cifax
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cifax is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cifax
- Forest
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Bellevue
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Bellevue is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
- Goode
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Lowry
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lowry is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
- Peaksville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Peaksville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Botetourt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow, with the one closest to Willow listed first.
- Rocky Point
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Rocky Point is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Point
- Buchanan
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Salt Petre Cave
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Salt Petre Cave is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Petre Cave
- Salt Petre Cave has also been known as:
- Salt Peter Cave
- Saltpetre
- Springwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Springwood is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwood
- Salisbury
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Salisbury is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
- Buena Vista City
- Buena Vista
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Campbell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow, with the one closest to Willow listed first.
- Mount Athos ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Athos is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Athos
- Powhatan
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Powhatan is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powhatan
- Timberlake
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Timberlake is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
- Bedford Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Bedford Springs is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Springs
- Lawyers
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Lawyers is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawyers
- Concord
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Rustburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Yellow Branch
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Yellow Branch is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Branch
- Lexington City
- Lexington
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lynchburg City
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow, with the one closest to Willow listed first.
- Lavino Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Lavino Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavino Village
- Woodbine Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Woodbine Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine Village
- Lynchburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Nelson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow, with the one closest to Willow listed first.
- Massies Mill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Massies Mill is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massies Mill
- Jonesboro
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Jonesboro is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesboro
- Tyro
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Colleen
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Colleen is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colleen
- Bryant
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bryant is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
- Arrington
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Buffalo Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Buffalo Springs is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Springs
- Shipman
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Shipman is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shipman
- Old Myndus
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Old Myndus is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Myndus
- Norwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Norwood is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
- Gladstone
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Nellysford
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Adial
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Adial is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adial
- Rockbridge County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow, with the one closest to Willow listed first.
- Riverside
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Riverside is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Buffalo Forge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Buffalo Forge is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Forge
- Marlbrook
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Marlbrook is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlbrook
- East Lexington
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- East Lexington is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lexington
- Glasgow
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Fairfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Fairfield is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
- Zollman ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Zollman is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zollman
- Fancy Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
- Davis
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Davis is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
- Greenlee
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Greenlee is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
- Brownsburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Kerrs Creek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Kerrs Creek is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerrs Creek
- Longwood ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Longwood is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Willow, see our County-by-County Page for Willow.
Cemeteries Near Willow ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Willow.
This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.
Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Willow - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Willow covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Willow, with the one closest to Willow listed first.
- Dodd Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Grant Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Roberts Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Gatewood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Higginbotham Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Coffeytown Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Hudson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Henley Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mays Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Hicks Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Beard Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Carpenter Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Continue List (183 more) ...
- Clarks Mtn. Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Green Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Burford Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
Nearby Communities in 1895 ...
We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Willow had a population of 12 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Willow, with the one closest to Willow listed first.
- Forks of Buffalo
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Forks of Buffalo is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks of Buffalo
- Oronoco
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Oronoco is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oronoco
- Allwood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Allwood is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allwood
- Pleasant View
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Pleasant View is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Sandidges
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Sandidges is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandidges
- Gidsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Gidsville is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gidsville
- Cornwall
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Cornwall is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall
- Riverside
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Riverside is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Pedlar Mills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Pedlar Mills is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedlar Mills
- Lowesville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- South River
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- South River is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South River
- Snowden
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Snowden is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowden
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Midvale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Midvale is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midvale
- Buffalo Forge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Buffalo Forge is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Forge
- Major
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Major is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Major
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Willow. See our List of 1890's Communities around Willow.
Newspapers Published in Willow ...
An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).
To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.
Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Willow.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Willow, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Willow.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.
To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Willow:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Amherst County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alleghany County
- Appomattox County
- Augusta County
- Bath County
- Bedford City
- Bedford County
- Botetourt County
- Buena Vista City
- Campbell County
- Lexington City
- Lynchburg City
- Nelson County
- Rockbridge County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Virginia
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com. |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Willow, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Willow) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |